Member

I currently own a sony STR-DB930 AMP and Sony DVP-NS900V and am thinking of upgrading to the Arcam DV78 and AVR250.

This has big cost implications and was wondering if it's worth the jump. I have a Pana TX32PD30 tv with component inputs and Bose AM15 MKII speaker system. I have heard bad reports about both of these but I'm very happy with them.

Are the DV78 and AVR250 the right choices or should I maybe have the DV79 and AVR300. Will they be that much better.

Standard Member

I had the same choice as yourself. I went for the AVR300 as it has pre out to use with other amps. I thought the Bose was OK but its limitations were shown up by my new kit. As I mainly listen to music I up graded my front speakers and relegated my Bose for surround sound duties with the other 4 channels. This works very well and I am happy with the set up. Its not cheap but the best thing to do is upgrade as money comes along. I donot think you would be dissapointed with either 250 or 300 but remember the 300 gives you more options to expand. The power amp is a good addition as well.

Guest

I am about to take the plunge with an avr250 and a dv79. This is a jump up from a yamaha dspax640se and various other bits of quite dodgy equipment. I am not posting my gear up until I have the new kit!!.

The upgrade is alot to do music, in that I can have one amp to do both, and the dv79 to do both as well. I went for the avr250 to save £300, and the assumption that my small house does not need the extra power, and (hopefully!) I don't need the pre-outs. The lack of pre-outs is my only concern, but the money saved allows me to upgrade the player to the dv79, and get DVD-A capability.

If you want stereo capability I would say that these Arcam products (250/300, 78 or 79) would be great choices.

Member

Thanks guys for the advice. I think I'm going to save my pennies a little longer and go for the Avr300 and DV79. My main reason for the upgrade is musice related. I think I'd like the option at a later date to add the power amps. I intend this upgrade to last a long time so I might as well plan ahead.

Guest

When running stereo from the AV250 do you guys use the 7.1 outputs (i.e. zone 2) for stereo speakers or do you just use the higher quality speakers for your front L/R surround set up?

The reason I ask is that I have satellite 5.1 speakers (elac cinema 3's) which are superb for movies but I feel they lack a bit o' punch for music so was considering using the zone 2 settings purely for music and running larger speakers.

Guest

I use the extra channels to bi-amp the fronts, which has produced an improvement in sound quality. Real improvement will be new speakers (currently using Mordaunt Short 902s's) but this will have to do at the moment!

Using Zone 2 for stereo speakers sounds like a good idea, as long as you can use Direct mode for the Zone 2 output? As I don't use Zone 2 I've never investigated.